Tag

Jaggers Communications

Aug 20
Love0

Nextdoor: A Practical Application of Social Media for your Neighborhood

By Social Media

My friend Sean Tubbs, a reporter for Charlottesville Tomorrow, is, like me, always interested in emerging forms of media. Sean mentioned a new application he was trying out in his neighborhood, Nextdoor. Sean and I are not neighbors, but I was very curious about whether the platform could be useful in bringing my own little neighborhood together and to help keep us better informed and acquainted.

I’m really delighted with the way Nextdoor has worked so far. The first challenge was to get enough of my neighbors to join the group — there were only a handful for which I had email addresses or who were friends with me on Facebook. I also had the application send invitation postcards to the addresses within the physical boundaries of my neighborhood. A few days in, 29 neighbors have joined (out of more than 300 households) and the group seems to be taking off. To get the site launched, we had to have a handful say “yes,” — if you have fewer than eight neighbors you might have to consider a larger community.

My neighborhood, and our HOA have been embroiled in some controversy  and a neighbor was recently arrested for embezzling from the association. It’s good for us, the neighbors, to have a robust platform to stay connected and communicating during this difficult time. In cheerier news, it’s a great place for us to share references for lawn mowers, babysitters, walking buddies and the like.

If you’re an iPhone user, and several of my neighbors are, the app on the phone is really good, and a great way to get to know those around you. I’m not being paid to endorse it, but I do! Try out a Nextdoor network in your neighborhood and let me know what you think.

Jul 29
Love0

Why is LinkedIn Important?

By Communications, Social Media

I’m asked often if it’s important to have a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn can be useful for a number of reasons: it can help you connect to others in your field; it can help you find new business opportunities or a new job; it can help you learn good business practices and social networking technique.

LinkedinimportantWhat you do with your LinkedIn profile says a lot about you as a professional. Other business people will go to LinkedIn to connect with you after meeting. Before that, though, some will Google you. What do people find when they search your name in Google? For me, an admitted high-producing publisher of online content AND the only Marijean Jaggers in existence, it’s surprising, even to me that the third result in a Google search of my name is my LinkedIn profile. It’s important because LinkedIn profiles show up for anyone who has one, in the Google search of their name. If it’s a clearly neglected profile, a nearly blank profile, or otherwise suffering (you have 14 connections? Really?) then THAT leaves a distinct impression on the person searching for you. If you can’t be found online, THAT leaves yet another impression.

What does your online profile look like? Are you happy with it?

May 21
Love0

When Horror Hits the Headlines: Tornadoes in Oklahoma

By Media

I grew up in the Midwest, land of Lincoln, corn, and tornadoes. We had tornado drills in school as often as we had fire drills, and I certainly experienced more tornadoes in my lifetime — and in fact, never a fire.

I’ve noticed, this week, as reports file in and are updated and revised on the death toll, the estimated damage, that no matter how I receive news, an event of this nature overwhelms and

Image from the Daily Beast

Image from the Daily Beast

overshadows all other content. It’s hard to even see or hear news beyond the tornadoes — even important news — when the consumers of news demand more pictures of devastation, stores of the survivors and the lost.

I can appreciate the focus on this and other tragedies, but I can’t help but wonder, at what price? When we narrow our vision to reflect on tragedies in our backyards and spend, perhaps, too much time looking at images or listening to interviews from the “ground zero” witnesses, what are we missing?

There are no artificial filters to help with this — it comes down to choices we make as consumers of news, but I think we should be cautious, and wary, that in the wake of tragedies such as this, our underbelly is exposed, and we need to still be vigilant in all other arenas, even while the first responders are still on site.

May 17
Love0

WTF? Friday: LinkedIn Bans Prostitutes, Allows Goofy Endorsements

By Social Media

It’s outrageous, right? That all this time, LinkedIn has had users whose professions include prostitution, and that endorsements like “rape,” “shoplifting,” and “manslaughter” have been WTF?allowed?

HOW DID WE NOT KNOW THIS? And really, who wants a prostitute with a well-developed professional net . . . oh, never mind.

LinkedIn is busy revising its user agreements while the rest of us grow weary of the request for endorsements. My friend, optometrist Mike Murphy, sent a message to his LinkedIn contacts this week:

I am sending a blanket email to all of my connections on Linked-In regarding endorsements.

Please be advised that I do not value empty endorsements. If you have never worked with me, been a patient of mine, or in some cases never MET me please do not endorse me.
Nor should you ask for or expect that I will endorse you for your skills if I have not experienced them first hand. I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but seriously if you do not know me how do you know that I even know which end of an ophthalmoscope to look through?

That said, I have received a few endorsements from people who I have a professional relationship with and those I welcome warmly and value highly.

Thank you for your consideration.

Mike Murphy

Endorsements have quickly lost their value. What still holds up, however, are the thoughtful recommendations that connections have written to formally recognize one another.

If you want to provide value to someone in your network, don’t endorse a skill, write them a recommendation.

Mar 26
Love0

Questions from the Field: How to Manage Your LinkedIn Profile

By Communications, Social Media

This just in:Marijean Jaggers

Dear Ms. Jaggers,

I read an article you wrote last year on LinkedIn summaries, with interest.

A question: what advice do you have for those who have perhaps the resume of a job-hopper, many interests, and though they may appear to be on a particular track, are still thinking about what they want to do when they grow up–in their mid-30s? Not that this describes me or anything 🙂

For example, how much should resemble marketing copy vs. an open acknowledgment of the divergent paths you’re thinking about?

Sincerely,

J. Hopper

My response:

Dear J.:

What a great question! There’s less concern about having a varied resume as there used to be – Gen X and younger workers don’t stay in one place longer than the job fits. I think open acknowledgement is the right choice – and demonstrates that you have a variety of interests and abilities.

 

I think the days of worrying about short-term engagements (as long as there’s a variety of career commitments and reasonable explanations and a lack of FIRINGS) are over. The new conventional wisdom says if you’re not fulfilled, satisfied, and rewarded at work, MOVE ON. It’s better for the employer and the employee. I have yet to meet a person who regretted a job change.

What do you think? What would you tell J. Hopper?